reely jiggin

"Folk and Trad like you've never heard it !"

We're now on Facebook. So find us there.....

"Our Mediterranean Cruise September '09"

What a fab trip we had round the Med with Enjoy Travel stopping in Barcelona Spain, Tunis Tunisia, Valletta Malta, Messina Sicily, Civitavecchia and Genoa Italy, Marseilles France and back to Barcelona, on the very, very plush MSC Splendida ! Thanks to Gerry Flynn and Enjoy Travel for the invite on the trip and to all the lovely people we met there. There were sessions morning and night (thanks to Mick and all the Seans), and gigs and dancing in between. The boat was absolutely splendid, the food and service top notch, the stop-offs very interesting and the weather perfect. Photos will be posted soon.....

"Our trip to Ibiza, April '09"

Well, we're off to Ibiza with Enjoy Travel for some sun, sea, sand and sets (that was SETS!) .... and sangria (hmmmmm) and to get stuck into some gigs. We're going with our Darragh Folk line-up, (see also www.darraghfolk.co.uk ), looking forward to having an excellent time, and going a bit mad with the music and dancing, and meeting up with some old friends again in the Sirenis Club Aura hotel and the Sirenis Seaview Country Club . Photos are on the Darragh Folk myspace page..... Oh! Enjoy Travel are now on myspace as well, see our "Friends" below.

"Cruise around the Adriatic and Aegean, September '08"

We're just back from the Adriatic and Aegean cruise with Enjoy Travel having stopped in Ancona, Gythion, Athens, Corfu and Dubrovnik. The ground is still moving for me. I'm waiting to come down to earth. It was a fantastic experience - the luxury of the boat, meeting people, singing, dancing, gigging. We had an excellent time. Not a lot of sleep !! The Fureys and Davey Arthur were fab. Took me back in time. And just as good as ever. Great to meet some old friends again. It's like a family reunion.....
Here are a few photos, taken by Joan Pollard Carew, (Freelance Visual Journalist working with Enjoy Travel), of us on stage in the ship's theatre, and out on deck....

Here's a few snaps taken by us....

"Trip to Torrox, Costa Del Sol, Spain, March '08"

So we've just about got our feet back on the ground from gigging on our 2nd annual trip to Torrox on the "Sunshine and Shamrock" tour organised by Enjoy Travel . We were stunned again by a fantastic week of music and craic, fun and frolics. The gigs were electric and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The whole week was mad altogether ! Lovely to meet old friends and make new ones, both holiday makers and the other musicians (check out the Divine Harmony boys). Thank you very much to all for your support and friendship. Without you, we wouldn't be there ! The weather was fab, the Sangria tasty, and the Riu Ferrara Hotel, very swish.
Thanks to Barry, , Cliff and Dermot for doing our sound for us. Many thanks to Piret again for putting on an exhibition dance to our Belly Dance tune and to our Russian tune. The boys are queueing up to take lessons..... For all styles of dance she can be contacted at Dancexpress .
Here's a few photos..... and more below from Yvonne...

And....

"Tribute night for our late, great bodhran player, Paul Phillips"

I just want to say thank you to everybody who supported us in any way at our tribute night for Paul (RIP) in the Great Hall in Downpatrick on the 9th February '08. And thank you to Thomas and Brendan for treating us so well at that excellent venue. Thanks too, to everybody who put up raffle prizes for the night. We had a great night's entertainment and a fitting tribute to our bodhran player.
The night went fantastically well. We got a good turnout and great support for the acts. Patricia Daly with Mary O'Neill, David Cunningham and Paul Marshall started the night. We followed that with Brendan Monaghan , who is my hero on pipes and whistle. Darragh Folk /Reely Jiggin started the 2nd half and we were followed by The Rooney Family , who played a whopper of a set. Donna Murray did MC and read out wee tributes about Paul that people had mailed me. My husband Gerry read the Ballad of the World Bodhran champion - written by Ian from Darragh Folk (can be got from www.darraghfolk.co.uk ). Cormac got into his cowboy suit and finished off the night. A great night both from an organisational point of view and from the audience's perspective. Something for everybody. We were very much focused on Paul, and the night was a celebration of him and what he meant to all of us. Thank you to all. Photos kindly provided by Anna Morrison.....

"The Trip to Portugal Oct '07…."

We've returned in one piece from our hectic trip to Albufeira with Enjoy Travel . It was yet another mindblowing experience with this company. We were overwhelmed again by the friendship and support from all involved - the management and organisers, holiday makers, fellow musicians, friends old and new. Thanks for the fantastic accommodation in the Hotel Montechoro apartments and for treating us so well. We thoroughly enjoyed our gigs and got a massive kick out of performing to such warm and appreciative audiences.
Thanks to Dermot and to the Steve James band (Blue room gig) for managing the sound at our gigs.
Thanks, too, to Piret and Stephen for the dance lessons (they had their work cut out for them), and to Piret for dancing to our Belly Dance tune (very distracting for the lads). For lessons in all styles of dance including Latin American and Salsa she can be contacted at Dancexpress
Here's a few photos....

"The gig at Belfast Maritime Festival…."
Our thanks to all at the Belfast Maritime Festival at Clarendon Dock, Belfast on the 1st July '07 - to the organisers, the fantastic audience, the sound engineers and not forgetting the crew of "The Grand Turk" who showed us a good time. The sun came out, our music was as energetic and lively as it always is (I got my adrenalin hit !), the crowd was huge, the craic was good and Cormac got out front to play fiddle and dance with the punters. Thanks to all the lovely people who came up and spoke to us afterwards, bought cds and showed us support. A grand day out...... A special thanks to Tanya from TC Clothing (phone 00447746944423) for the Reely Jiggin t shirts. We love 'em !
"About the band…."
Reely Jiggin formed in 2005. Although, as individual musicians they have a wide range of experience and fabulous talent, they were united by a real need to connect with their audiences and to play authentic music to a wide range of people. They play an eclectic, energetic mix of folk and traditional influenced by The Pogues, Christy Moore, Guns N’Roses (?!?), teaming that with old ballads and come-all-ye’s and of course adding the Reely Jiggin mix to it all - a result that culminates in a lively, emotionally-moving and entertaining performance for both themselves and their audiences. By request, they have recently released their first CD, “Out of the Box”, which is teeming with energising, toe tapping tunes and songs.
Peter Murray (Vocals and guitar) :
Pete has been singing since he was a nipper in short trousers. He’s been belting out his repertoire of folk songs, old and new, in Ireland, Europe and the U.S. Singing in the folk style, he is an entertaining voice, mixed with a bit of blarney and craic.
Madonna Jones (Whistle and backing vocals) :
Madonna has played whistle for longer than she can remember, from before the days of sound proof rooms when she sat in the middle of a field to practice. She is a natural entertainer and adds a glamorous female dimension to the team. She’s been successfully gigging for 20 years in Ireland and Europe, and recently received great feedback from playing Seattle and Spain with Reely Jiggin.
Paul Phillips R.I.P. (Bodhran, percussion, mandola and backing vocals) :
Paul has an All Ireland Champion Medal and a World Champion title for playing bodhran, along with several Ulster championship wins and County titles. He has shared stages at various times with Lunasa. Mike McGoldrick, Sean Ryan, Gerry O’Connor, Steve Cooney, Mary Bergin and more; he has toured widely, across Europe, the US and even as far afield as in Timbuktu [yes, really] in the Sahara in 2006 bringing the drum to ever-wider audiences. Paul is an experienced teacher and Comhaltas adjudicator, teaching at many of the main summer schools in Ireland. Visit Paul's website .
"The on-stage experience…."Peter :
“You cannot beat being on stage with good people and surrounded by a great audience.”Madonna :
“A big adrenalin rush which steadily intensifies. The music takes over, grabs me, is part of me and I’m oblivious to all but the rhythm, sound, energy. A wee smile, a wee nod and a surge. Ecstatic blur. “
Cormac :
“For me the best way to describe playing music on stage with Reely Jiggin - it’s just a real natural high. I feel absorbed and lost in the music – it feels almost like a spiritual experience. As the gig progresses I feel our energy grow stronger with every song and tune we play. We give this energy out to the audience and they send it back, creating an electric atmosphere that is not forgotten once experienced. The audience know what they are getting is real and respond accordingly.”Paul R.I.P. :
“While on stage it’s like being in a trance. The music and the rhythm take over the whole being and, mixed with the audience reaction, for me it’s mind-blowing. I would go as far as saying it’s therapeutic.” "What the punters say…."Quotes from our recent performances with Enjoy Travel in the Riu Ferrara Hotel, Costa Del Sol, Spain, March '07....
“Your music is raw and gutsy” – the Cardiff/Kerry delegation
“(You have an) authenticity which came across from the stage, you all are having such a fun time and are playing your music for the love of it. Paul has a wonderful talent …….. His relationship with Cormac on stage is very powerful Peter plays the the 'sensible' one on stage he sort of offers a balancing act between Paul and Cormac, and I enjoyed the jokes he told too, non offensive but funny. (Madonna’s) presence on stage is excellent, very natural, either with sparkly sandals or barefoot and your music playing is haunting and really tugs at people emotionally” - Mary Barrett
"They won't be with us for long; they will be performing in Boston"
“ 'Do you know Reely Jiggin are playing in the blue room, get there early to get your seat' - We did, as I told Cormac, Mary and I skipped dinner that night so we could get a ringside seat - worth every tummy rumble!!! “ – Sinead Flanagan
Photos from the Enjoy Travel gigs in the Riu Ferrara Hotel, Costa Del Sol, Spain, March '07....
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